All Forum Posts by: Nick Foundas

Keep in mind interest rates are high right now which may be a major factor in it not being cash flow positive with a cash out refi...would your current property become cash flow positive eventually once interest rates come down and you can refinance into a lower interest rate?  Maybe play around with a mortgage calculator to see what the interest rate would need to come down to for you to get it cash flow positive...if it doesnt require much of a drop in rates then I think it makes sense to take advantage of the high property value (before a drop in value happens) and take that money to acquire more assets

Keep in mind even if you start with just one property and pay all cash, you can always pull equity out of that property when you find the next one so I wouldn't worry too much about trying to find multiple properties upfront. Also interest rates are high so for now it might make sense to just buy that one property in cash and get your feet wet with being a landlord. You can bank the cash flow since there is no mortgage, take advantage of the tax breaks that come with rental property and keep your eye out for the next great property. Once you identify another property you can take out a home equity line of credit on your existing property to use as the down payment for property #2. 

Agree with above, start by driving the locations you are interested in and see what makes sense for work, friends, desired amenities etc.

Next (or concurrently) you need to get that pre-approval lined up so you know what your Max budget looks like.  Be sure to mention you are looking for multi-family so that they can include projected rents into the equation (you will probably be surprised with how much you will qualify for).  Once you have the pre-approval amount, you may be able to add some additional towns to your search criteria that you previously thought were out of range.

House hacking is the best way to get started and sets you up beautifully for future success and opportunities.

Best of luck!

Hi Paula, happy to help I'm a broker/agent and I can set you up with an MLS feed. Just shoot me a message with your preferred search criteria (price range, towns etc and your email) and I can set that up.

I recently went through the process (in 2020) during the height of the pandemic. I was told it was going to take a couple weeks.
I submitted my application on 7/17/20 and got the approval back on 8/7/20.

I personally think its worth it.  Going full-time right out the gate is not easy as its a competitive business, the pay is unpredictable and it takes time and patience to build a strong book of business and referral network.

Being a part-time agent while balancing a regular full-time job is definitely doable.  Most Buyers look at properties after business hours or during the weekend so you can certainly juggle the schedule around your full-time job.  Examples of when it can get sticky is when you need to do a home inspection or a closing during the work week.

I personally started part-time while working a regular full-time W2 job and it worked out great.  I primarily started out helping family, friends or co-workers, closing a couple sales/year and it provided great side income that I could use to invest in real estate.  Also, having the license is super convenient allowing you to look at properties for yourself whenever you want without having to work around an Agents schedule.  The license also allows you to earn a commission when you buy a property for yourself.

Lots of Agencies arent a fan of part-time agents but there are plenty that will take you on.  I'm still part-time myself and recently decided to get my Brokers license to open my own office.  This allows me to have more flexibility and not have to worry about an office frowning on me for being part-time.

I previously spoke to the following banks when I was shopping around for financing on a 5 unit property and they indicated they had the ability to go up to a 30 year Amortization on a 15 or 20 year Term, however the rate was in the 4's.  Not sure you would find something in the 3's with the 20-30 amortization but still worth a call.
Shrewsbury Credit Union
Hanscom Federal Credit Union
East Boston Savings Bank

Hi Christian, installing a french drain w/sump pump is your best bet to completely eliminate the issue.

We used B-Dry in one of our properties and worked great.

https://bdryboston.com/

Good luck!

-Nick

Hi Devon, regarding your specific question Im not 100% sure on that, however if you need a recommendation for a HELOC Lender, I got mine through Hanscom Federal Credit Union. They allow you to go up to 95% LTV if you want/need to go that high (I think they may even go to 100%). The interest rate of course will rise the higher you go with the LTV but having the option to go that high was great (I did mine at 85%), I also found the interest rates to be very competitive when I opened mine a couple years back.

Hi Austin, you could consider marketing them as off market/pre-mls properties on some of the local Real Estate Investor facebook pages (for example the Black Diamond page has 3,000 members).  People are always posting off market or pre-mls properties on there.  Maybe you could find someone looking to do a 1031 exchange into a 3 family.  However, keep in mind there are lots of Agents on these pages as well who represent Buyers so you may want to say "Principals only" if the Seller wants to avoid paying a Buyers Agent fee.